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Background: Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Over a span of more than five decades, the economy has achieved steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and MexicoArea land: 9,161,966 sq kmArea water: 664,709 sq kmCoastline: 19,924 kmCountry name conventional long form: United States of AmericaCountry name conventional short form: United StatesCountry name former: United States of AmericaPopulation: 313,232,044 (July 2011 est.)Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.1% (male 32,107,900/female 30,781,823); 15-64 years: 66.8% (male 104,411,352/female 104,808,064); 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 17,745,363/female 23,377,542) (2011 est.);Population growth rate: 0.963% (2011 est.)Birth rate: 13.83 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)Death rate: 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)Net migration rate: 4.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)Sex ratio: at birth: 1.047 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female; total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.);Infant mortality rate: total: 6.06 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.);Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.37 years; male: 75.92 years; female: 80.93 years (2011 est.);Total fertility rate: 2.06 children born/woman (2011 est.);HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (2009 est.);HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 1.2 million (2009 est.);HIV/AIDS - deaths: 17,000 (2009 est.);Nationality: noun: American(s); adjective: American;Ethnic groups: white 79.96%, black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate);

note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic

Cases of beer were wheeled into the Capitol after the House narrowly passed a health care bill on May 4, 2017, that would repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act. Every Democrat voted no, joined by 20 Republicans.